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Latest Bing Center News

July 8, 2015: Meet Josephine Vos, MD: she will be working as a research fellow at the Bing center for 6 months starting this week! Dr. Josephine Vos is an internist-hematologist from the Netherlands (St. Antonius Hospital). She became interested in Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinaemia towards the end of her clinical training. She then became part of the team that wrote the first Dutch National guideline for WM as well as the protocol for the first Dutch clinical trial for WM patients. Two years ago, the Dutch team payed a very inspiring working visit to the Bing Center. The teams have been collaborating since then, and the next international WM workshop (IWWM9) will be held in Dr. Vos's home town of Amsterdam in October, 2016. Recently, Dr. Vos has been working towards a PhD in Waldenstrom's disease (affiliated with the University of Amsterdam) alongside her clinical job as a hematologist. For the next 6 months she will focus on the further exploration and characterization of respones in hemoglobin levels and bone marrow responses after novel treatments in WM. Also, she hopes to dedicate a portion of her team joining the WM clinics in order to bring home as much knowledge about WM as possible. In Dr. Vos's own words, "I want to thank all the Bing Center staff for hosting me here and I am looking forward to a very inspiring time here!" Here are some links to institutions and programs that Dr. Vos is involved with: St. Antonius Hospital: http://www.antoniusziekenhuis.nl/ University of Amsterdam:…

SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorization for IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) in the European Union to indicate the treatment of adult patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) who have received at least one prior therapy, or in first line treatment for patients unsuitable for chemo-immunotherapy.1 WM is a rare, slow growing form of blood cancer.2 IMBRUVICA is also the first and only FDA-approved treatment for WM in the United States.3 The CHMP recommendation follows the January 2015 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) full approval of IMBRUVICA to treat all lines of patients with WM.

Louise Millard will be running the London Marathon on April 26th, 2015, on behalf of her step-father with all proceeds going to the Bing Center for WM. Another dedicated mercenary towards WM, Louise has been an exemplary team player for the Bing Center and her family battling WM. With Imbruvica on a direct path into Europe this year, the research being discovered and developed at the Bing Center for WM can only add more to the unraveling of the genomics and interpretation of this disease.

2015 IWMF Educational Forum Dallas, TX May 1-3, 2015 Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center The IWMF's annual Educational Forum is a unique opportunity for patients and caregivers to learn about our disease from specialists in Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM) who are involved in many areas of clinical practice and research. Held in a different part of the United States every year, the “Ed Forum” offers something for everyone, no matter what your experience or level of knowledge.

When Elizabeth Cahn was presented with her treatment options for triple-negative breast cancer, the decision was about more than just getting healthy; it was about “paying it forward.” “I know there are many people who participated in clinical trials before I came along and it was because of their participation that researchers were able to create a new combination of chemotherapy drugs available to me,” says Cahn. “It made me feel like I was part of a much bigger world of people trying to make the patient experience better.”

I ran the NYC Marathon on November 2, 2014 in support of Waldenstrom’s research. This was my fourth marathon but first NYC marathon. It was a challenging 26.2 miles especially with the cold and windy weather. The course touches all five boroughs of New York City: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan uniting dozens of culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods, crossing five bridges and finishing in world-famous Central Park.

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) today announced that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on data from a Phase 2 study evaluating the use of IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) in patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM), which was led by Dr. Steven Treon from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. IMBRUVICA, which received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation in February 2013 for patients with WM, is being jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics and Janssen Biotech, Inc.

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted single-agent IMBRUVICA® (ibrutinib) regular (full) approval in all lines of therapy as the first and only treatment for patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare, indolent type of B-cell lymphoma.1 This is the fourth indication for IMBRUVICA, an oral therapy, which received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for this indication in February 2013.

The 8th International Workshop for Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia and Symposium on Advances in Multiple Myeloma was held from August 13-17, 2014 at the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel, in beautiful historic London, UK. The workshop was attended by over 200 scientists and research staff, representing 20 countries. IWWM-8 included 12 sessions with 50 technical presentations, 8 "Great Debates" (4-MM, 4-WM), 38 poster presentations, including a 2-hour poster session with short oral presentations of accepted posters, a special Saturday luncheon lecture by Dr. Shirley D'Sa, and 4 "Task Force" discussions on various topics in WM.

ASH 2013 Attendees

The following members of the Bing Center (past & present) presented posters and/or delivered oral presentations at the ASH 2013 conference. They also had the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on their ongoing research projects.

Guang Yang with his poster PI3K/AKT Pathway Is Activated by MYD88 L265P and Use of PI3Kδ Inhibitor Induces Robust Tumor Cell Killing in Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia.

Lian Xu (R) and Tian Zhe (L) with her poster Detection of MYD88 L265P in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia and IgM Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance.